SpartanNash CEO David Staples has resigned, and former CEO Dennis Eidson has been selected to serve as interim president and CEO effective immediately. The company has also announced that it will end its Fresh Kitchen operations by the end of the fiscal year.

United Natural Foods Chief Financial Officer Michael Zechmeister will depart Aug. 23 for the same role at C.H. Robinson. John Howard will serve as UNFI's interim CFO.

Warehouses should be mapped for obstructions and inspected for safety concerns before mobile robots are brought in, robotics experts advise. Having robots handle smaller loads is good for wear and tear as well as human safety, says Karen Leavitt of Locus Robotics.

Dow Chemical wants to apply robotic process automation to its order fulfillment process, potentially easing its supply chain operations. "We want supply chain planners managing the overall supply chain network, not just individual pieces of the process," says Dow Supply Chain Technology Fellow John Wassick.

Calabrio Chief Marketing Officer Rebecca Martin discusses how artificial intelligence can help marketers drive decision-making based on insights from customer service contact centers. "We have the ability to not only understand what's happening in the contact center, but to predict people's next action," she says, noting, "That's the holy grail for a marketer."

Amity Kapadia offers three tips to boost business-to-business word-of-mouth marketing, beginning by establishing trust via customer recommendations. Reward current customers for their social advocacy and automate systems to make word-of-mouth programs as efficient as possible, she recommends.

At the end of every meeting, review what was decided upon, what will happen next and each person's role, writes Lolly Daskal. "Make sure to assign someone to check in at appropriate intervals to ensure that the commitments are being kept and, when necessary, re-evaluated in light of unexpected issues," she writes.

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